


Siren's call

by Xyzcl



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Kairi is in this for all of 5 seconds, M/M, Wolf Riku, merman sora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:28:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24472795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyzcl/pseuds/Xyzcl
Summary: Riku's life is pretty straightforward until he meets a stranger in one of his classes who's taste in drinks catches him off guard
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Siren's call

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't supposed to be two chapters yet here we are

Riku looked around the classroom with a bored expression, tired after a long week of juggling work and school taking its toll on him. He had to hold back a yawn and resist just coming down with a case of the Fridays and leaving. Whoever decided it was legal to schedule a history class with the one teacher who had less of a personality than a garbage disposal at nine in the morning should be arrested for crimes against humanity. If he didn't need the credit so badly to graduate, he would have left in a heartbeat. Noticing movement out of the corner of his eye, he watched as a brunet with strikingly blue eyes wandered into an open seat in the row ahead of him with one of the largest cups of coffee Riku had ever seen. As he watched, the other man pulled a green can of monster out of his backpack. 

"I'm gonna die." the brunet mumbled, cracking open the can and pouring it into his coffee before taking a drink of the disturbing concoction. 

Riku had to hold back from gagging as he watched the man in front of him. Something about his blatant disregard for his personal health and safety made him just worried enough to pack his notebook and pencils in his bag before moving up to sit next to the budding caffeine addict. 

"You feeling okay? That looked like it was pretty gross." Riku mentioned as he settled into the seat next to his classmate. 

"It is, I've just gotta make it through one more class though." the brunet replied before taking another sip and grimacing. "Once I get home, I'm gonna sleep for the whole weekend."

"You're gonna try to sleep after drinking that?" 

The brunet shrugged and looked up at his classmate. "I've slept through worse." 

Riku couldn't resist a smile as he pulled a note card out from his binder and jotted down his name and phone number. "Here, I'll buy you a less gross drink before class sometime." 

"I might have to take you up on that offer." his classmate's smile brightened as he accepted the note card, reading over the name on it. "Riku.....it's nice to meet you! My name's Sora." 

"It's nice to meet you too Sora." 

Riku turned his attention to the board and flipped his notebook open to start taking notes. The longer class went on, the more he started to notice all the little things about the man next to him. The scent Sora gave off that wafted over to him was glorious, a scent reminiscent of the sun on a summer day and a familiar tropical fruit that only grew on the beach of a town he'd visited as a child. Knowing the odds of running into someone else here who had been there before and how low they were, he wrote it off as just the artificial scent of some tropical shampoo. Besides the distraction Sora brought by being his normal sunny self, class went smoothly with nothing being too confusing through the entire lecture. He could see that his classmate was having trouble understanding what was being taught to them but at the same time he didn’t move to ask for any help with anything they were taking notes on. Riku highlighted all the most important parts of the lecture in different colors based on how important they were before offering his notebook to the brunet next to him. 

“Here, you can give it back in class Monday.” Riku offered, not wanting his classmate to fail when he didn’t need his notes for the next two days himself. “My notes might make more sense than listening to our teacher’s boring voice.”

“Thanks, I don’t know how you can stay awake long enough to take these.” Sora replied gratefully, his whole body visibly relaxing as he carefully put the notebook in his backpack. 

“No problem. When’s your next class?” 

Sora let out a quiet hum as he glanced at the clock on his phone. “My next class isn’t till noon, what about you?”

“Mine starts at 11:30.” Riku explained casually while he packed his binder and supplies into his backpack. 

“We’ve got an hour until then, wanna get something to eat?” Sora offered once he’d put everything away in his bag. 

“Sounds good to me.” 

Sora cheered happily, standing up and pulling his new friend along behind him as he led the way through the halls and outside onto the main campus. Riku was caught off guard by the soft hand holding his own, the warmth of another’s skin touching his being something he wasn’t used to anymore. He couldn’t help but follow along enthralled by the classmate he had just met. Allowing himself to be pulled along, Riku was guided into a cafe with a bright atmosphere only second to that of the man who’d pulled him along. 

“Hey Sora, you’re early.” the cashier behind the counter greeted, pushing a strand of her red hair back behind her ear. 

“Hey Kairi, I woke up late and forgot to pick up some breakfast when I got my coffee this morning.” Sora explained as he stopped in front of the cashier and looked over the all too familiar menu. “Can I get an eggplant grilled cheese with tomato soup?” 

“Sure! And what about you?” Kairi asked the unfamiliar man brought into her cafe, writing down the brunet’s order on a notepad before looking up at the two of them. 

Riku glanced over the menu, reading over the options to make sure he ordered something he was willing to actually eat. “Can I get a cheese burger with a fried egg on it”?

“How do you like it cooked?” 

“Rare please.” 

Kairi raised an eyebrow before nodding as she wrote down the order on her notepad, ringing the two men up for their order together. “You sure found an interesting one Sora.”

“Kairi!” Sora’s face turned a shade of red as he paid for their meals before pulling Riku along to one of the corner tables to sit down. “Sorry about her, we’ve been friends for so long she has a bad habit of checking over every guy she meets to try and set me up with a boyfriend.” 

“Sounds like a good friend.” the silver haired man had to bite back a chuckle as he sat down across from his new friend. 

“She’s great, just a little too into making sure I’m not lonely if she moves away.” Sora explained as he laid down with his head on the table. 

“My uncle does the same thing to me but he keeps trying to set me up with girls my age. Last time he introduced me to a girl, she was even less interested in me than I was with her. She’s one of my best friends now though, I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She’s one of the few friends I have that my uncle is okay with.”

Sora laid his head on the table, his eyes never leaving his classmate’s face. “That sounds lonely.”

“It is, it just makes me appreciate Xion’s friendship more though.” Riku explained with a smile. 

The two college students chatted idly, their conversation devolving from trying to find out more about each other to a heated debate about which Disney movies were the best for a day off marathon. They were arguing about whether Lilo and Stitch or Moana was the better choice for the binge watching list when Kairi came over with their food, setting it at the table for them. 

“The chef says if you end up sick from eating almost raw beef it’s on you.” Kairi warned as she set Riku’s plate in front of him. 

“That’s fair.” the silver haired man replied with a shrug before eating one of his fries. 

Sora reached over and nabbed one of his friend’s fries before digging into his grilled cheese, letting out a quiet hum of delight as his only sound while he ate. Riku smiled before taking a bite of his burger, relaxing at the first drop of blood touched his tongue. He knew it would seem strange to normal people that he was eating a burger cooked rare but for him it was just the way it should be. The two of them ate in peace with only a few lapses in the comfortable silence as they continued talking about which Disney movies they would add to their day off binge list. They finished up their meals, Riku offering to buy Sora a pastry to help keep his energy up so he wouldn’t fall asleep in class before they left and accepting the rejection of his offer. After starting his day in such an interesting way, Riku had a feeling the rest of the day would only get more interesting.   
  


Riku let out a relieved sigh as he passed through the border the faeries had put up to keep humans away from their part of the town, letting his hair down to release his ears from their braided prison and un-tucking his tail from the waistband of his jeans. It had been a long day and he was more than happy to finally relax and stop sitting on his tail. He followed the trail up towards his house, pausing in front of a long empty house that had finally found new life as a family had settled in the empty shell days earlier. It was strange to see the decorations in the front yard and the handmade dolls of small creatures sitting in the front windows after so long of passing by the house with only the occasional cat seeking shelter peeking out from the windows. One of the small dolls, a rabbit-like creature with crooked antennas and beady red eyes, waved at him from the window in a way that made it seem excited to see him. Riku waved back, used to seeing things like moving dolls after his years of living on the secluded side of the barrier. He continued his walk to his house, greeting a few of his neighbors along the way while he dug his keys out of his pocket. 

“I’m home.” Riku called out as he stepped inside, listening for movement inside the house to see if Xion had decided to visit or not. 

Hearing nothing, he shrugged his backpack off and set it down next to the couch before wandering off to his room. He stripped his shirt off with a sigh before changing into a loose tank top and swim shorts, slipping his feet into a pair of flip flops on his way back out. Riku grabbed his towel and locked the front door on his way out before making his way to the lake. He needed to unwind after the long week he had just finished and the lake by the boundary was the best place to relax after a stressful work week. Reaching out to move the weeping willow branches out of the way, he froze. There, sunbathing on a rock in the middle of the lake, was Sora. He didn’t look the same way he had during their lunch though. Where legs had been during their meal, he now had a tail dipped into the water with scales in shades of blue that put the sea and sky to shame. He could tell that Sora hadn’t noticed him yet by the way his voice rang in a calming melody, the sound drawing him in as he listened. Riku set his towel down on the edge of the lake, pulling his phone and wallet out of his pockets and adding them to his small pile before wading out to sit on a half submerged tree trunk while he continued listening to his friend sing on his sunning rock. After a few minutes, Sora’s bright blue eyes made their way around the perimeter to see if anyone had wandered over, freezing at the sight of his classmate sitting on one a fallen tree in the lake. He quickly jumped back into the water to avoid Riku, hiding on the other side of the rock to try and process what was going on. The silver haired man let out a quiet sigh, smiling as he watched the merman process what was going on. His eyes followed the smaller man as he swam closer before peeking his head out of the water. 

“I didn’t know you were a dog…” Sora mumbled, suddenly very interested in a river rock he was fidgeting with. 

“I didn’t know you were a fish.” Riku replied casually with his chin propped on his hand and his elbow braced on his knee. The merman pouted as he blew bubbles in the lake water, the look causing the wolf on the tree to smile. “Pout all you want, you just look like a cute little guppy from where I’m sitting.” 

Sora splashed his classmate before sitting up and crossing his arms. “When were you gonna tell me?”

“I try not to tell people about the tail before the third date. Guess that makes you special.” Riku let out a quiet hum before leaning on his hand more. “What about you? When were you gonna tell me?” 

“I was gonna tell you before inviting you over to meet my brother after our coffee date.” the brunet mumbled before pulling himself up to sit on the log next to his friend. “Guess you beat me to it this time though.” 

“More like the lake beat both of us to it.”

Sora couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. Riku rubbed his friend’s back softly to remind him to breathe while he inwardly debated the pros and cons of pushing him back into the water. 

“So what happens if you get water in your ears?” the merman asked curiously, reaching up to softly touch Riku’s ears. 

“I’ve gotta dry them really well or I’ll get an ear infection, that’s about it.” the wolf answered with a quiet hum as he grabbed his friend’s wrists. “You’re not supposed to just grab at people’s ears.” 

Sora puffed his cheeks out in a pout before leaning forward so his forehead thunked against the taller man’s chest. “This is the craziest situation I’ve ever been in, I never thought the cute guy from my history class would live just down the street from me.”

Riku hummed his agreement as he released the wrists in his hold before slipping off the tree and into the waist deep water. He picked up the merman without warning, earning a protesting squeak and tanned hands gripping his shoulders tightly. The silver haired man adjusted his grip to make sure he wouldn’t drop Sora before wading back to shore. The smaller man’s face had turned a shade of pink as his hands had moved from his friend’s shoulders down to feel along his biceps. Riku had to hold back from teasing his companion as he sat down on the shore next to his towel with the other man in his lap. 

“So, how does this change things?” Riku asked calmly. “Does it change anything at all?”

Sora let out a quiet hum, tapping his chin as he looked up thoughtfully. “Well it definitely changes one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“I don’t have to worry about you freaking out when you see my brother’s dolls.” Sora explained with a bright smile. 

“You mean the ones in the window?” Riku asked curiously.

The brunet nodded enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Yeah, those ones! He makes them because he doesn’t have a lot of friends. Apparently they’re homes for restless spirits who like to cause mischief but all they ever do is watch cartoons and eat cookies.” 

“Wait, those things can eat?” 

“Yeah but they eat like little kids whose parents told them they can eat whatever they want.”

Riku let out a quiet hum, resting his chin on the merman’s shoulder as his hands ran across the cold scales of Sora’s tail. As his fingers traced patterns along the tail in his lap, Riku couldn’t help but wonder something. With a glance around the shoreline to confirm his suspicion, he whispered in his companion’s ear. 

“Sora, where’s your clothes? You did wear pants on your way here right?” Riku asked quietly in an attempt to not startle his friend.

Sora’s face turned a dark shade of red as he answered quietly. “I did but some kid ran off with my pants about an hour ago....”

“I’d better get you home before you dry off all the way then.” 

Sora buried his face in his hands out of embarrassment as he leaned against Riku's shoulder. "My house keys were in my pants….." 

"Here, let's go to my place then. Once everything calms down we can call your brother and have him pick you up." Riku replied calmly, wrapping his towel around the merman's tail and setting his phone and wallet in his lap. 

"Thanks Riku." the brunet held onto his friend's shoulders, making sure not to move around much so he wouldn't be dropped. 

Riku picked up his friend, quickly making his way back to the road and following it back to his house. Once he could see his front door, he motioned for Sora to pick up his phone for him.

“Hey Siri, unlock my door.” Riku spoke carefully into his phone to make sure it didn’t misunderstand what he was saying again. He heard the familiar click of his door unlocking and pushed his way in, kicking the door closed before walking over to the couch and setting Sora down on it. “I’ll get you some clothes.” 

The silver haired man hurried down the hall to his room, knowing he didn’t have much longer before his friend’s tail turned back into legs. He grabbed one of his older shirts that he only wore to bed anymore and a pair of shorts with a drawstring so Sora could tighten the waistband. Those would have to do until they could contact Sora’s brother. He made his way back out to the living room and handed the clothing to the merman on his couch, his tail flicking with amusement as he saw the brunet looking around in awe. 

“Something catch your eye?” Riku asked as he handed over the clothes he’d picked out. 

“You don’t have any pictures of your family or anything.” Sora mumbled as he pulled the shirt up over his head. 

“Gotta have family to have pictures of them.” 

Sora froze before looking up at the wolf in horror. “You don’t have a family?”

“I do but I don’t.” Riku explained as he sat down on the couch next to the smaller man. “I have a brother but he doesn’t talk to me unless he has to so we agree not to talk about each other much.”

"That sounds so lonely…" Sora mumbled as he picked at the towel wrapped around his nearly dry tail. "Could you turn around for a minute?" 

"Sure." Riku let out a quiet hum as he turned around, facing the kitchen while he listened to the rustling behind him. 

Sora rubbed the towel along his tail to finish drying it, slipping the shorts on as quickly as his legs reformed. He was so unbelievably mentally exhausted after the stress from having his clothes stolen finally washed away. Reaching up behind him, he ran his fingers through silver hair, appreciating how soft it was as he pet the other man softly. He could see Riku's tail flicking slightly as he continued petting him and smiled. A large hand gripped his wrist, stopping his petting as the taller man walked around the couch and sat down on the couch next to him. Riku nuzzled the merman’s shoulder softly with his tail wagging slightly as he cuddled Sora. 

“You’re like a big puppy.” Sora teased with his fingers running through his companion’s hair. 

Riku let out a grunt and nipped the smaller man’s exposed shoulder in retort, wrapping his arms around the merman’s waist at the sound of a squeak of indignation from him. He couldn’t resist flicking Sora’s leg with his tail as he pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder. 

“So since you’re gonna be over here for a while, how does dinner and a movie sound?” Riku asked with his face still buried in his friend’s shoulder. 

“Dinner sounds great.” Sora replied quickly, his face turning a shade of red as he tipped his head back to let the other man get to his neck easier. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking maybe spaghetti and you for dessert.” the wolf whispered against tanned skin before nipping his neck again. 

“I’m not on the menu.” Sora grumbled halfheartedly with a soft push against the taller man’s chest. “Come on, get up you fluffy log.” 

“Nah, I think I wanna stay here a little longer.” Riku’s hands moved down along his companion’s body to settle on his soft thighs, wrapping Sora’s legs around his waist as he softly nipped and kissed along his neck. He couldn’t help but let out a pleased hum as the man under him let out a moan and gripped his hair. “Careful with the hair, I might bite harder if you pull.” 

A rumbling growl emanating from somewhere between them pulled the two of them out of their moment as Sora swatted the wolf’s back to get him to move. “Come on, at least feed me first. Aren’t you supposed to try to fatten me up before you eat me?” 

“I dunno, you seem to have enough on you already.” Riku replied with a playful squeeze of the merman’s backside. 

“You’re heartless, can’t you see I’m wasting away?” 

The silver haired man smiled and pressed a kiss to the tip of his companion’s nose. “Alright, alright, I’ll make dinner. I didn’t know fish could be so dramatic.”

“You’ve obviously never seen a stressed pleco.” Sora replied with a huff, laying back on the couch as he relaxed into the firm cushions. 

“I’ll have to trust you on that.” Riku stretched his arms over his head as he made his way into the kitchen, calling out to his companion to keep the conversation rolling. “Ever seen someone spatchcock a chicken?”

“I’m a siren, not a succubus Riku.” came the flat reply from the living room. 

"That's not what it means." Riku laughed as he shook his head and looked through what he had in his fridge. "It means to flatten a chicken out and cook it like that." 

"I don't know where you learned that but I'm gonna trust you on that." 

Deciding against making chicken the first time he had Sora over, he closed the fridge and walked over to his pantry. He grabbed a jar of spaghetti sauce he still had and a box of spaghetti noodles, listening to Sora hum while he cooked. Having someone over for dinner made everything less lonely and made Riku feel more comfortable in his own house. It was a nice change of pace. 

"Any food allergies I should know about?" Riku asked while he stirred the pasta in the boiling water to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

"Nope, I'm all good." Sora called back while he flipped through the comic section of the newspaper that had been left on his friend's coffee table. 

Riku nodded, setting a colander into the sink and scooping about half a coffee mug's worth of the pasta water out of the pot before draining the pasta into the strainer. He shook the strainer to finish shaking out the rest of the water, pouring the pasta and water back into the pot before adding in the spaghetti sauce. Tan arms wrapped around his waist while he stirred the sauce into the pasta and Riku couldn't help but smile as he patted the hands settled on his stomach. 

"Food's almost done." Riku explained, while he waited for everything to heat together. 

Sora let out a hum, pressing his face into his friend's back as he relaxed. Riku turned off the stove once he was sure everything was heated through, moving the pot off the hot burner before turning around and hugging the smaller man. 

"Do you even realize how cute you are?" Riku asked, nuzzling the top of the merman's head softly. "Come on, let's get some food in you before you waste away."

Sora dramatically fell into his friend's arms, leaning his weight on him. "You're too late. World…..going….dark."

"Come on drama king, up we go." Riku huffed as he picked up the smaller man, carrying him back to the living room and dropping him down on the couch. 

Sora let out a quiet oof as he was dropped onto the couch before sitting up on his knees while he watched the wolf walk back into the kitchen to dish them each a plate of food. He could see Riku's tail flicking as he walked back with their food. 

"Here you go." Riku offered as he handed the plate over to his companion. He stepped around the couch to sit next to the other man and settled in. "Eat up." 

"Thanks for the food!" Sora thanked his friend and smiled as he dug into his plate of spaghetti. 

The two of them ate in comfortable silence, their legs the only part of them touching the other while they both focused on not getting tomato sauce all over themselves. There was just something about the situation that made the two of them want to look good to the person they were sitting next to. Once they had both finished eating, Sora took all their dirty dishes back to the kitchen to wash them.

"Hey, you don't have to do that. I can wash them." Riku argued as he started to get up.

"You cooked, it's only fair if I wash the dishes." Sora explained with a glance over his shoulder. "Sit down, I'll be back over in a few minutes."

Riku sat back down, watching the merman from over the back of the couch. He couldn't help but stare as he listened to Sora hum the same song he'd been singing at the lake. Once the brunet had finished washing the dishes, he walked back over and sat down on the couch, wrapping his arms around the other man as they curled up on the couch together. Riku turned on the TV to a random channel and set the remote on the coffee table before laying down with Sora on top of him. He ran his fingers through Sora's soft brown hair while the two of them appreciated the peaceful quiet. After a while, Riku could hear what sounded like soft snoring from his companion and looked down to see he had fallen asleep. 

"Sleep well Sora." Riku whispered as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of the smaller man's head. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even sorry for the chicken joke


End file.
